iPad Sheet music app that can also create Text charts?

[EricBarker]

As a decade-long MainStage user, I've gotten used to writing text shorthand notes for all my bands. Typically a few changes here and there, a few alphabetic melodies written out "d f# g  a..." Recently I've been playing in a lot of folk groups, Irish & Klezmer among others. They all use sheet music. And I have one group where I kind of use a combination of the two.

I'm having a heck of a time finding an iPad program that does both well. ForScore and its ilk are really focused around scores, which is not the majority of what I need. I'm currently using SongBookPro, which focuses on lyrics sheets, which is great for jotting chords, but is clunky with PDFs. The trickiest part is that folk dance music tends to merge multiple tunes in "sets", and that software doesn't have that function, so I'm left swiping around madly, mid-tune.

 

Is there any iPad software that does both PDF music scores, and editable text pages seamlessly?

[ElmerJFudd]

1 hour ago, EricBarker said:

As a decade-long MainStage user, I've gotten used to writing text shorthand notes for all my bands. Typically a few changes here and there, a few alphabetic melodies written out "d f# g  a..." Recently I've been playing in a lot of folk groups, Irish & Klezmer among others. They all use sheet music. And I have one group where I kind of use a combination of the two.

I'm having a heck of a time finding an iPad program that does both well. ForScore and its ilk are really focused around scores, which is not the majority of what I need. I'm currently using SongBookPro, which focuses on lyrics sheets, which is great for jotting chords, but is clunky with PDFs. The trickiest part is that folk dance music tends to merge multiple tunes in "sets", and that software doesn't have that function, so I'm left swiping around madly, mid-tune.

 

Is there any iPad software that does both PDF music scores, and editable text pages seamlessly?

Word processor, ya?  use Pages - which is free with your device, downloadable from the App Store if not already installed.  It takes a few minutes to find the right font and font size, and set for narrow margins. When you’re happy with the chart - save as PDF and open it in forScore or your reader of choice.  Use annotations and the pencil to make any alterations.  
 

The Notes app on iOS devices has a neat feature of turning digital pencil writing into text.  And is a less    bloated text editor. 
 

If your handwritten charts are perfectly legible, use a blank PDF and annotations in forScore to just draw your charts as you always have.  There are also “stamps” you can drop in as premade graphics for chord changes and musical symbols.  Share any type of chart you’ve made to other forScore users over airdrop as a forScore file, or PDF with annotations which will work for most any reader app.  
 

You can also scan all your existing paper charts with an app like  SwiftScan and export to PDF.  The cam on your phone or iPad works really well for this.  Just need adequate lighting opposite your own shadow - like from a lamp.  There are presets for black and white, gray scale, etc. 

[EricBarker]

Can I edit full page text PDFs after the fact in real-time on ForScore? I’m constantly editing my text notes as I go, adding patch possibilities, drawbar registrations, new chords (if the band is writing something), etc. I should mention that text charts is my primary method, with PDFs about 40% of the time. Whatever app I choose should have a robust text edit system. I’m not seeing that in ForScore from the demos I’ve seen.

 

I use TurboScan to instantly capture Charts, and import them into SongBook Pro. This program is almost perfect, except it doesn’t have the ability to merge multiple PDFs or text pages later.

thats pretty much the only missing feature from this workflow.

[ElmerJFudd]

28 minutes ago, EricBarker said:

Can I edit full page text PDFs after the fact in real-time on ForScore? I’m constantly editing my text notes as I go, adding patch possibilities, drawbar registrations, new chords (if the band is writing something), etc. I should mention that text charts is my primary method, with PDFs about 40% of the time. Whatever app I choose should have a robust text edit system. I’m not seeing that in ForScore from the demos I’ve seen.

 

I use TurboScan to instantly capture Charts, and import them into SongBook Pro. This program is almost perfect, except it doesn’t have the ability to merge multiple PDFs or text pages later.

thats pretty much the only missing feature from this workflow.

Hi, if you own a Mac, the Preview app which is the default PDF viewer can merge PDFs. I’m sure there are iOS apps that do as well.  I haven’t messed with it lately but Pages is very good with PDFs as well, can probably import your PDFs and save them as one file.  
 

Does song book pro allow you to annotate?  To draw right on the score by hand with the Apple Pencil?  If so, then you can definitely import a blank PDF and write on it.  You can do this is forScore.  
 

Here is how Adobe says to merge PDFs on iOS.

 

https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/hub/how-to/how-to-merge-pdfs-ipad

[EricBarker]

I guess I'm looking for something quicker and simple that I can do right in rehearsal. You actually can merge PDFs right inside of the "Files" app on iOS. However, by that point I've often written some hand notes in SongBookPro, and it's kind of a slower process. Bandmates have to wait around for me to spend a few minutes bouncing between apps and importing.

 

I was hoping to find some program that would do exactly what I need, quickly on-the-fly. But maybe that's just not possible. Not sure why, I don't feel like my needs are particularly unique, but maybe they are!

[ElmerJFudd]

Yeah. I think many people have different work flows in mind and unfortunately we aren’t all capable of building the exact app we want. 
 

Can you share what one of your charts that doesn’t easily get created in Songbook Pro looks like? 
 

Side note, I definitely prefer not to have my pdf charts merged because I want each song to have its own meta data, title, key, artist, style, etc.  so I can search for it in forScore.  Then put them together in a set list.  

[EricBarker]

18 minutes ago, ElmerJFudd said:

Yeah. I think many people have different work flows in mind and unfortunately we aren’t all capable of building the exact app we want. 
 

Can you share what one of your charts that doesn’t easily get created in Songbook Pro looks like? 
 

Side note, I definitely prefer not to have my pdf charts merged because I want each song to have its own meta data, title, key, artist, style, etc.  so I can search for it in forScore.  Then put them together in a set list.  

Yeah, I can upload a screenshot.

 

I generally agree about merging scores. This is not something I’ve ever encountered in genres outside of folk dance. But I’ve done Irish Contradance for years and it’s pretty universal. I’m finding it’s also true for Klezmer and other folk dance styles. Since dances go on for a good 7-10mins, it’s common to string 2-3 together into a “Set” so it doesn’t get monotonous.

 

At the end of the day, I probably just need to be more organized behind-the-scenes. Have a bunch of individual tunes, and then merge them together when I need them.

 

Setlists don’t exactly cut it because it’s hard to tell what tunes have been paired together in a “Set” (what we call 2-3 back-to-back tunes). That just looks likes unrelated numbers.

 

back with physical scores, we would typically paperclip charts together to keep them organized. That’s sort of what I’m hoping to do digitally.

[davephoto]

I was an early adopter of forScore since the original iPad. It's still my go-to. But for text and number charts, I use 1Chart and export as PDF into forScore. I find 1Chart quite a bit neater and faster than a word processor. You get stuff that looks like this:

[stoken6]

1Chart looks really nice. Is it iPad only? Or are the desktop versions?

 

Cheers, Mike.

[ChrisDespo]

I’ve used Setlist Maker for iOS since it first came out.  Does everything I’ve ever needed, including notes, pdfs, separate lyrics area, chords, Midi (for changing patches, etc), sample player, sets, songs, etc.   

 

Highly recommended and the guy that develops it (Arlo) is very responsive to feedback too.   Here’s a link to the website to read more:

http://www.setlistmaker.com/main/home.html

 

(no affiliation other than a happy user)
 

 

[obxa]

For quick shorthand I just use note pad and this : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/song-memo/id1459218009

or this:

 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/musician-keyboard/id1279722356.

 

Both install a music chord font and keyboard that can be used within any other app, so you don't need to actually use the parent app.   You choose  like emoticons.     Chord symbols etc., and you can select the key so it automatically has the relative chords of that key.   Simple and easy.

 

Should be able to use it with anything that lets you enter text on.   I sometimes find it easier to add  annotations via text in Forscore using one of these. 

 

I do wish both had repeat sign- so going to check out 1Chart.  Usually just use brackets or parenthesis, never thought about using apple pencil to draw them.  Great idea. 

 

I use Forscore for shows with a book or defined setlist   Igigbook  for Realbook- Fakebook etc. type stuff- it has an annotation feature that has some symbols too.    Many books are indexed (including Jewish Fakebook for Klezmer).   Irealpro does a pretty good job too and can be exported into anything.  (PDF,Finale etc.) just wish it had more text ability.  Lots of stuff in the Irealpro user catalog community (including Klezmer, Irish) but often requires corrections. EZ to make setlists.   I often use it for simple Bluegrass charts when playing bass-  the transpose feature is great.    It can also be run on a Desktop to make editing quicker,  then export to IOS.

 

[TommyRude]

On 2/8/2023 at 2:05 AM, EricBarker said:

iPad Sheet music app that can also create Text charts?

from Chatbot:

 

There are several iPad apps that allow you to create sheet music and text charts. Here are a few popular options:

1. ForScore: This app is designed specifically for sheet music and offers a wide range of features for organizing, annotating, and playing your music. You can import PDFs or scan in your physical sheet music, and the app also allows you to create setlists, add notes and highlights, and even turn pages using a foot pedal.
2. Notion: This is a powerful music composition and notation app that allows you to create sheet music and text charts. You can input notes using your iPad's screen or a connected MIDI keyboard, and the app also includes a range of editing tools, such as the ability to add dynamics, articulations, and lyrics.
3. MuseScore: This is a free, open-source app that allows you to create, play, and share sheet music. The app includes a wide range of notation symbols, and you can add lyrics and chord symbols to your score. MuseScore also supports the import and export of MusicXML files, which allows you to easily share your music with other musicians and apps.

All of these apps are available on the App Store and offer unique features and capabilities, so it's worth exploring each one to determine which best fits your needs.

[Phil-E-Phil]

On 2/10/2023 at 4:19 PM, obxa said:

For quick shorthand I just use note pad and this : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/song-memo/id1459218009

or this:

 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/musician-keyboard/id1279722356.

 

Both install a music chord font and keyboard that can be used within any other app, so you don't need to actually use the parent app.   You choose  like emoticons.     Chord symbols etc., and you can select the key so it automatically has the relative chords of that key.   Simple and easy.

 

Should be able to use it with anything that lets you enter text on.   I sometimes find it easier to add  annotations via text in Forscore using one of these. 

 

I do wish both had repeat sign- so going to check out 1Chart.  Usually just use brackets or parenthesis, never thought about using apple pencil to draw them.  Great idea. 

 

I use Forscore for shows with a book or defined setlist   Igigbook  for Realbook- Fakebook etc. type stuff- it has an annotation feature that has some symbols too.    Many books are indexed (including Jewish Fakebook for Klezmer).   Irealpro does a pretty good job too and can be exported into anything.  (PDF,Finale etc.) just wish it had more text ability.  Lots of stuff in the Irealpro user catalog community (including Klezmer, Irish) but often requires corrections. EZ to make setlists.   I often use it for simple Bluegrass charts when playing bass-  the transpose feature is great.    It can also be run on a Desktop to make editing quicker,  then export to IOS.

 

 

We'd love to hear why Forescore is better for you than iGigBook for the scenarios you describe.

[obxa]

6 hours ago, Phil-E-Phil said:

We'd love to hear why Forescore is better for you than iGigBook for the scenarios you describe.

Hi Phil- I don't want to hijack the OP's thread.  I'l be happy to send you a PM or email. I've happily been with you since version 1, but do have thoughts.  

Thanks

C

[Phil-E-Phil]

10 hours ago, obxa said:

Hi Phil- I don't want to hijack the OP's thread.  I'l be happy to send you a PM or email. I've happily been with you since version 1, but do have thoughts.  

Thanks

C

 

Please do.

[aronnelson]

Eric, check your PM